Chapter 108: Medea
A photograph. A bounded field?
Although Emiya Shirou lacked Saber's [Magic Resistance] skill and didn't possess the sheer agility shown by Assassin in the Fourth Holy Grail War—who could breach the Tohsaka family's meticulously prepared magecraft defenses with nothing but a few pebbles—in a way, such bounded fields were the thing Shirou feared least.
Just as DIO in the original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure could breach Kakyoin's Hierophant Green barrier in an instant, Shirou utilized [Pseudo-The World], which had long since finished its cooldown.
He had no need to trigger traps or worry about detection. Within the frozen world of stopped time, he followed the coordinates spirit-photographed by [Pseudo-Hermit Purple] and marked on the photo to find Caster's location.
Effortlessly, and without alerting Caster—the very architect of the magecraft defenses—he appeared directly before them.
"I see. So, you are the only one who could make it here, Saber's Master?"
Caster still couldn't fathom exactly how Shirou had bypassed so many layers of magecraft and reached this spot without tripping a single alarm. However, she was certain of one thing: the person standing here now was Emiya Shirou alone.
Whether it was Saber or Lancer, they were currently held back by the outer perimeter fields she had laid. After all, the [Magic Resistance] skill is, at its core, designed to counter magecraft. It is entirely ineffective against various physical phenomena derived from magecraft.
Having realized that the intruders included Sabers and Lancers—Servants of the Three Knight Classes—Caster had tailored the Ryudou Temple defenses specifically to counter them. While she might not be able to keep Saber out indefinitely, she felt there was a very strong hope of using a "righteous two-on-one" to quickly eliminate Emiya Shirou before help arrived.
Eliminating Emiya Shirou meant eliminating Saber as well. Moreover, as long as Kuzuki Souichirou's assassination techniques remained a secret, he would have the chance to assassinate Lancer's Master the moment they arrived.
This wasn't a desperate situation at all. It was their opportunity to turn defeat into victory!
"To abandon your Servant and come here alone—should I call you courageous or merely foolish?"
Once Caster reached this conclusion, her gaze toward Shirou shifted, looking at him like a fat sheep ready for slaughter.
"Though, I do quite like people like you."
As she spoke, Caster let out a charming laugh, licking her lips with her tongue.
"I like you so much, I feel like devouring you completely right now~~"
It's worth noting that Caster hadn't kept Saber and the others outside without a price. She had poured almost all of the magical energy she had gathered into those defenses. Right now, she was in dire need of a replenishment.
Of course, if Shirou turned out to be weak, Caster didn't mind seizing control of Saber either. After all, she had done that sort of thing enough times to be intimately familiar with the process.
However, as Caster secretly cast her magecraft, sending out threads designed to bind and drain magical energy, they all spontaneously combusted the moment they neared Shirou.
Whoosh!
From a perspective only visible to a Stand User, [Pseudo-Magician's Red], projected beside Shirou, had simply raised the surrounding temperature slightly to neutralize all of Caster's tricks.
"Wh-What...!?"
This sudden turn of events finally made Caster realize that the Emiya Shirou standing before them was no helpless sheep, but a "Coyote" in sheep's clothing.
Unfortunately, they realized it too late. Not only did they fail to immediately use space displacement to flee this temple, but they had also actively approached Shirou.
They had voluntarily entered a Stand's effective range!
Facing Caster's horrified gaze, Shirou simply asked one question: "Caster, the 'gas explosions' that have been happening in Fuyuki recently were all your doing, weren't they?
I won't say things like 'how could you kill so many people just to gather mana to win the war,' because I now know what kind of people magi are. I just want to know: can the people you drained of mana still survive?"
[NO! NO! NO!]
"I see. Then I'll ask one more question. With your level of magecraft, Caster, is it possible for you to remain manifested in this world using the mana from Fuyuki's leylines without needing the Holy Grail?"
[YES! YES! YES!]
There was no need for Caster to verbally answer. [Pseudo-Atum] had appeared by Shirou's side the moment he asked.
Faced with a Stand ability that allowed Shirou to see through lies and look directly into the truth of another's soul, he only needed to know if Caster's internal answer was "YES" or "NO."
After seeing Caster's responses through the eyes of [Pseudo-Atum], Shirou nodded as if understanding something.
"Medea. Princess of Colchis in Greek Mythology, priestess of the goddess Hecate, and the famous Witch of Betrayal. Even though you appear to be a girl in love, and in your story, you seem to be a victim... at first, I truly thought that way."
In Shirou's past-life memories, the Type-Moon universe had portrayed Jason as a total scoundrel. Consequently, Medea, who was deeply connected to him, naturally received a "redemption arc," turning from a witch of betrayal into a lovestruck girl.
But now, having seen Caster's true thoughts through [Pseudo-Atum], Shirou understood.
"But there are some things that no matter how much you try to 'whitewash' them, or how much you paint yourself as a victim, they cannot be cleared away."
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